2002 Renault Clio 172 Cup 2.0i petrol

Summary:

Fun hot hatch with reliability/dealer problems

Faults:

Passenger seat runners were very loose and had to be replaced.

Oil leak from power steering.

The rear brake pads stick to the brake disk when the car is left standing and it rains!

The alarm sometimes doesn't arm when the key-fob is pressed.

The engine sometimes doesn't start after a long journey. The starter motor turns over, but it doesn't seem to have a spark.

The most annoying fault is a knocking from the front right suspension (which gets worse by the day).

General Comments:

Good points first. If you are after a seriously 'fun' car then this is it. Find a decent B road, put your foot down (keeping within the speed limit off course!) and you will have the biggest grin on your face. This is a true track-day car and cheap as well. Performance and handling are exceptional.

This car is only 6 months old and it has had numerous faults so build quality and reliability are poor (see faults!).

Another bad point are the dealers. Avoid if you can, but no doubt you will be visiting them sooner rather than later. I took my car to my local dealer to fix the suspension and brake problem. They couldn't fix the suspension problem because they didn't know how. The dealer phoned up Renault, but they didn't know how to fix it either! Apparently the sticking brake fault is a 'feature' of 172 cup's, although I don't believe that.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 19th May, 2003

2nd Jul 2003, 04:34

I have not got a Clio CUP, but was thinking of buying one soon. I have read many other articles about it lately and they all seem to praise the reliability of the Clio Cup!

I used to have a Golf GTI, but 4 years ago I bought a Clio 1.6 16v 3 door. It only had 1 problem from new which was the rear wiper that came on with the front wipers, but this was covered under the warranty. Otherwise I LOVE it and it has given me 40K of trouble free miles. I can't believe that the CUP is so different.

I have beaten many Citroen saxos, Peugeot 205 1.6s and XR2s etc. I would agree that the Renault dealers can seem unable or unwilling to find any problems. There seems to be a barrier between the car owner and the engineers, so getting across any slight intermittent problems is near impossible.

I shall hold back on buying a Cup in case I come across any other bad reports, but so far the majority of owners seem delighted.

P

P.S Even being heavy footed most of the time I get 43MPG which I think is brilliant.

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2002 Renault Clio 172 2.0 16v

Summary:

As excitable as a child in a candy shop

Faults:

The exhaust system has come loose at the manifold.

This causes irregular 'putting' from the tail pipe.

There is also a resonating buzz when thrashing through the gears.

The front suspension also makes a noise from the rubbing on the exhaust system???

General Comments:

This car is a lot smoother than what i originally expected.

Reckon it is chipped to only perform at 4000 rpm. This allows smooth driving at lower revs.

Looks are subtle and not so 'rude boy'.

Catches out other drivers who think it is just a Clio.

Lovely well designed interior.

Some of the controls don't seem quite right, e.g. the wiper controls.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 17th May, 2003

2002 Renault Clio Dynamique + 1.6 16v

Summary:

Very good value for money, stylish looks and fun

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

Plus points:

Excellent value for money with a good level of equipment for price e.g. 6 airbags, ABS, a/c, cd player, sunroof.

Looks good, goes fast, is fun and fairly economical (but don't think you will get the same sort of figures as for the 1.2 or the diesel)

Gadgets such as the automatic lights and wipers work well.

Shortcomings.

The roof makes a lot of creaky noises

Turning circle not as good as you would expect

Not much space when you are loading large items.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 29th April, 2003

2nd Jul 2003, 05:42

I have had a Clio 1.6 16v V reg for nearly 4 years. No problems at all and it only cost me 10k brand new.

OK, it is not perfect, but it is only supposed to be a little runabout.

My only gripes are the ride is a bit joggy on bumpy roads, the engine has a slight intermittent wobble at idle, (I was told that this is normal for that engine) the front windows squeak and moan when winding down, but they are big windows after all!

If I take it easy, I get around 45 mpg. I will consider buying another one, perhaps the 172 or CUP.

Would love to meet someone who owns a CUP and has had first hand experience of one and servicing it.

Have I been lucky to have no breakdowns or problems since new or are all Clio 1.6 16v the same?

Cheers.

16th Aug 2004, 16:13

I agree with the comments about the creaky roof. My 2002 Dynamique Plus went in to have it mended last year. They hadn't heard of the problem then, so tried many options. It ended up being at the garage (the main dealership in Derby) for so long that they needed the courtesy car back so had to rent me a car -a brand new ford fiesta (which was fantastic by the way!). Eventually it was mended. However, a year on the same noise has come back again (and I've not even done 12k miles yet) it has gone in, and they replaced the seals on the sunroof and grab handles - again. However, a week later, the same creaking, rattling stress noise is back. Its very bad over bumps and in multistorey car parks (going down). I'm currently trying to book it in again - although I keep leaving messages and they never call me back - typical Renault customer service as far as I can say. I also seem to have a problem with the car getting far too misted up, does anyone else have this problem? Renault say that I have the re-circulation button on - which I don't - but unfortunately did when I complained about it!